Time: Beginnings
by Lucifer Rosemaunt
Summary: ErikRaoul slash impending. Time, a 3parts Series. Installment 01. Christine runs away. More like slashy undertone, beginnings
1. Notes

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I don't own POTO... All I own is an overactive imagination.

Summary: ErikRaoul slash impending. Time, a 3parts Series. Christine runs away. More like slashy undertone, beginnings?

Warning(s): slash (that's homosexual content for those of you who don't know)

Pairing(s): ErikRaoul

A/N: Hi. It's been a while. A long, long while. I need to work my way back up to long chaptered fics so IF is going to be done when it gets done. Until then, please enjoy this series.

Story note: There's no actual explicit Erik/Raoul in this portion of the series. If you close your eyes and think dirty thoughts then you're close to what my mind is like and you'll see where/when/how the slash will be coming. Enjoy.

As to the time when this story occurs – sometime after they get engaged? I don't know. It fits somewhere in there.

o.o.o.o

Time: Beginnings

Part01:Notes

o.o.o.o

By: Lucifer Rosemaunt

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o.o.o

Raoul closed his eyes and tried to ignore the beginnings of the headache that was forming. His fingers tightened on the note that he was holding crinkling it further.

He felt as though he should have known better. He should have known that no good news ever traveled by notes between him and the opera house. The first note he had received had been from the opera ghost about Christine's disappearance and it had definitely set the precedent. The subsequent flurry of notes from the managers about every little incident that occurred due to the opera ghost had been as much of a joy as the ghost's note.

This note, he had received rather unsuspectingly. It had been surprisingly calm at the opera house lately. He had been lulled into a false sense of security. He wondered why he could never receive a note from the managers that stated everything was going exceedingly well at the opera house.

This note however. He still could not bring himself to believe the message.

Christine was missing.

Again.

This note had not been sent by the opera ghost however. The lack of the skull seal had possibly been the first component that had placed Raoul in his false sense of security as he opened it. The second component had been the lack of that distinctive writing that Raoul associated with the opera ghost.

The managers were just as clear though. Christine was missing and had been for the past several hours now since daybreak.

Shoving the note into his pocket, Raoul grabbed a jacket and headed out. He did not bother finding a carriage. He mounted his favorite white horse and set him into a gallop towards the opera house.

Raoul did not know what to think. Christine was missing. It did not matter that the note was not sent from the opera ghost. He _had_ to be at the root of Christine's disappearance. The ghost had done it once. Who was to say that he would not do it a second time? But, not to take credit for it the second time seemed rather incongruous.

As though he had been expected, the managers were standing by the front door speaking heatedly with one another when Raoul arrived.

Before he could dismount, Andre asked. "Do you know where she is?"

Raoul tried not to roll his eyes at the question. "I just learned from your letter that she was missing. How could I possibly know where she is?"

"We thought…" Andre wildly gestured with his hands, "maybe…"

"We were wondering if she had perhaps been with you," Firmin said evenly.

Raoul shook his head. "She stayed here like she always does, Monsieur." Raoul resented the implication. He was a gentleman unlike a certain ghost.

Firmin and Andre shared a look. Raoul would have commented on the look if there had not been more important things at hand.

"And the ghost?" Raoul asked instead as he led them into the opera house. Outside was no place to have this conversation. Who knew who was listening? Though the same could be said about inside the opera house.

Firmin frowned, but Andre answered, "No word from him either."

Just then, a large portion of the ballet corps ran screaming out from one of the hallways. Many hid behind the managers. Raoul tried to hide his displeasure at seeing how much enjoyment the two obtained from the girls clinging to them. He stepped away from them just to have space to breathe and calm himself down.

"But, I think he may have just found out." Firmin quipped rather joyfully. Raoul didn't even want to know where his other hand was.

Meg was in the group. She was the only one that Raoul really recognized and only because she was always around Christine. Raoul directed his question at her, "What happened?"

Meg looked at him with wide eyes, but she did not seem to be as excitable as the other girls. She looked around and quietly spoke her answer, "We had been walking towards the stage. Suddenly, a roar seemed to echo through the halls. It had been so sudden. It had sounded like a wild animal had gotten loose in the opera house."

"Or a ghost," one of the other girls chimed in.

Raoul nodded and turned towards the hallway that the girls had just run from. He wondered if the ghost could be faking it or if the yell even had anything to do with Christine's disappearance. He was inclined to believe that the two were somehow connected though. He did not so much as believe in coincidence.

With this new development, he was willing to temporarily consider the ghost innocent of kidnapping Christine this time. Unfortunately, that left Raoul with nothing. The list of suspects had mainly consisted of the opera ghost.

Raoul glanced over his shoulder at the managers who had apparently forgotten their concern for Christine's disappearance.

"Haven't rehearsals started," Raoul commented. Everyone looked towards him. The managers stopped halfway through their fawning and sent the ballet girls away. They cleared their throats and stepped closer to Raoul.

Once they were alone again and Raoul had managed to contain his annoyance, he asked them, "Who else do you think could have kidnapped her?"

After they shared another look, Raoul wondered if he could separate them just to stop them from having those silent conversations in front of him.

"There is no one else," Firmin replied.

"What do you mean?" Raoul looked at him in disbelief, "There must be someone else you can think of."

"Well," Andre explained, "The only ones who were capable of kidnapping her would be you, us, any of the residents here, or the opera ghost."

Firmin added, "Since we've already checked that all of the workers, dancers, and singers are here, and the fact that we wouldn't have kidnapped her, the only people left are you and the opera ghost."

Raoul scoffed. "And fans?"

"There was no forced entry, and if it were a fan…" Firmin let the sentence drift.

Raoul shook his head. "Then what?"

Firmin shrugged, "Then she would have gone willingly."

Willingly? That thought had not even crossed his mind. Christine would not though. They were promised to each other. She had been so excited about the engagement. She could not have left willingly. No. It was true that the note had only stated that she had been missing, but a kidnapping was the only thing that made sense in Raoul's mind.

So, if the managers were correct in their analysis of the situation, it was either him or the opera ghost.

Raoul wondered how he could get a hold of the opera ghost. The ghost was surely still here, which meant that Christine was still here. He decided that if he had to search every inch of this opera house, he would. Saying his intention to do just that, the managers insisted that they come along and ensure that their patron not end up missing as well. They headed down the hallway where he knew the opera ghost had been last.

o.o.o

Erik glared at the Vicomte as the fop and the managers spoke to each other.

He had heard the news this morning that Christine was missing. So caught up in composing, he had not bothered checking on Christine this morning. He had watched her sleep late into the night, and their lessons were not until later. There had been a ruckus when he finally went into the theatre. It did not take long to find out what was wrong. He simply had not believed it. After searching the entire opera house to see if they were correct, he found that he could not deny the fact that Christine was not in his opera house. She had not left by carriage either. Her coat still hung on the peg. No one had seen her leave either.

Christine. His Christine was missing.

The scream that ripped through his throat upon realizing this fact sounded loud even to his own ears. The following screams snapped him out of his stupor though. He had to find Christine. He could not just stand behind the walls of the opera house screaming. The first person that came to mind when thinking of possible kidnappers was the Vicomte.

Following the girls, he smirked when he came upon the Vicomte and the managers. Those girls always seemed to find the managers. Having the Vicomte present was simply perfect. He would not have to send for him.

His gaze immediately focused on the patron. It had to be him. It had to be his fault that his Christine was missing. The fake concern on that face was enough to make Erik want to jump from his hiding place and kill the Vicomte right now.

But, he managed to focus long enough on the words that were spoken. The boy was trying to figure out where she was. The concern on his voice was convincing. It was enough to make Erik falter. He did not think that Raoul could act that well. He was a fop. He could not have that sort of talent, but just as Raoul had come to the conclusion that Christine would not have left by herself, Erik was certain that Christine would not have gone.

It had to be Raoul. It had to be that he was only playing the role of the concerned patron or fiancé, whichever he was willing to admit to today. The boy was hiding something and it was not just their engagement. He could not help but wonder if they had they really been stupid enough to believe that he would not find out.

That was a different problem though. He had to first focus on figuring out how to find Christine right now. How should he approach this? He knew what he wanted. He wanted to go out there and kill the Vicomte. If he did, he might not find Christine. That option would have to wait.

He would first check the Vicomte's estate. Erik had to especially when the Vicomte had provided the perfect opportunity to do so. While Raoul was busy with his futile search of the opera house, Erik would go to his estate and take Christine back.

And if she were not there, Erik would wait for the opportunity to kidnap Raoul and torture him into telling him where he was keeping Christine.

o.o.o

Raoul was exhausted. He had walked so much. He had not realized that the opera house was that large. They had checked every room, every stairway, every attic, and nothing. Raoul had not even found a secret passageway. He was certain that he must have passed hundreds of them, but he could not figure a way to get to the opera ghost.

The second note that Raoul received that evening was, as expected, bad news.

This time it _was_ from the opera ghost demanding that Christine return to his opera house in addition to a threat on his life. It was not so much the message that disturbed him however. It was the fact that he had found the note in the pocket of his nightshirt.

So, the ghost thought him to be the reason for Christine's disappearance. Raoul could not help but feel a little bit of his hope fade at reading the note. He kept doubting his belief that the ghost was the kidnapper. What would the ghost gain by playing this game with him, by pretending that he was not the one who kidnapped Christine if he in fact did?

Raoul was getting too tired to keep worrying. He just wanted to sleep and hopefully wake up to find that it had all been a bad dream.

He considered contacting the managers about the note but he had spent the whole day searching the opera house with them. He did not want to risk having to spend another minute with them. If the ghost sent him a note, then he was certain the managers had received a note similar to this one.

Raoul decided to do one last thing before he slept. Calling for his attendant, Raoul requested that he find several individuals to investigate Christine's disappearance. Raoul specifically told them to search from Paris to beyond.

Raoul hated to consider the fact that if the ghost could not find her, Raoul could not possibly hope to find Christine in that opera house. If she was not in the opera house, he doubted that she would stay in the city.

o.o.o.o

End part 01

Word count: 2,099

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A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!

Chapter review: Well, don't you like how the main two suspects are Erik and Raoul for kidnapping Christine? Do they even have private investigators then? Pardon me if that's an anachronism (or for any anachronism you find).

Author review: The words still have some problems coming out smoothly. So excuse how awkward it may seem to start. It _has _been a while since I'd last written fanfiction. I apologize. I hadn't actually realized how much I missed it.


	2. Confrontations

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I don't own POTO... All I own is an overactive imagination.

Summary: ErikRaoul slash. Time, a 3parts Series. Christine runs away. More like slashy undertone, beginnings?

Warning(s): slash (that's homosexual content for those of you who don't know)

Pairing(s): ErikRaoul

A/N: This fic is short, right? It's a shame in some aspects, but honestly, I haven't been able to even re-read Imaginary Friends because it seems so long. In fact, I can't even read Pass time or Unmasking the Chains because they're too long. I wanted a quick fic that someone could just plow through and read as many times as they wanted. Not so many words (and I'm not even doing that well). 2,000 was a lot more than I was actually expecting.

Story note: Sorry for any OOC-ness (I have a problem with that). I said I'd get better at keeping them in character, but I don't think that I can succeed at doing that.

o.o.o.o

Time: Beginnings

Part02:Confrontations

o.o.o.o

By: Lucifer Rosemaunt

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Last time: Christine has gone missing. Erik and Raoul suspect each other.

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o.o.o

It had been four days. Four days of being patient, as patient as Erik could be. He had sent notes to the managers making demands that even he knew to be unreasonable. He had never seen his opera house cleaner though.

Christine was still missing though, and neither the managers nor the Vicomte had revealed any information about her whereabouts. Erik still had no idea where they might be hiding her.

After the second day, he figured that the managers could not be guilty. They were too stupid to be able to keep a secret for this long. So, the Vicomte had to be working all on his own in this respect. The Vicomte was hoarding Christine all to himself and was playing them all as fools. He played the concerned patron quite well. Erik could almost believe that the Vicomte was really worried, but he did not. It made no sense if the blonde was not the guilty party in this case. If it was not Erik, then the perpetrator had to be Raoul.

Four days was quite a long wait, and still Erik was waiting for his chance to take Raoul. He did not doubt that Christine still had to be nearby. The Vicomte had been to the opera house every day since her disappearance. Erik did not believe that he would send her that far away until he would be able to go with her. The problem was that their precious patron did not seem to be leaving any time soon; so, Erik could not even follow him to find her. No, Raoul had spent long hours at the opera house. Longer hours than he used to, which had been long enough before. The Vicomte practically lived at the opera house now. Still, the opportunity to grab him did not arise. The managers were with him at all times. They forced their patron to be constantly surrounded by people, away from places that Erik could easily grab him.

However, if Raoul kept to his normal routine, Erik knew he would have the perfect opportunity to take Raoul and force him to reveal where Christine was. The managers had woken up early everyday to meet Raoul, but they were not very fond of waking up so early. They had told Raoul as much. Still, the boy had the arrogance to say that he would be fine alone in the mornings.

Erik did not think that Raoul realized he arrived at the opera house quite early, earlier than the managers, earlier than any of the others were up. Erik did not know what the Vicomte hoped to accomplish by spending so much time at the opera house. He only knew that Raoul had Christine. Erik would gladly beat the truth out of him.

o.o.o

Raoul was tired. These past four days had been the longest days of his life. He still could not believe that Christine was actually missing. He went to the opera house everyday expecting her to be there. It was frustrating at best.

In the beginning, he had doubted the ghost was the kidnapper, but there had been a flurry of notes from said ghost. It seemed like he was trying to hide something. He was making ridiculous demands that Raoul could not convince the managers to not listen to. They seemed harmless enough so Raoul let it go, but it had made him think that the ghost was acting rather uncharacteristically. Almost as uncharacteristic as kidnapping Christine and not telling anyone about it would be.

So, Raoul decided to spend more time at the opera house trying to see what else the ghost would do or if anyone else would go missing. He could have done without the constant supervision of the managers, but they were so adamant about keeping Raoul around as many people as possible. He did not think that there was any reason to take such precautions, but he let them have their way. He just wanted to find Christine and the opera house was the only place he could think to go to find a clue.

The morning of the fifth day since Christine's disappearance Raoul wondered if he should stay home. Nothing more had happened in the opera house. The notes that the ghost sent did not offer any other type of clue as to where Christine might be or where he was holding her, but Raoul decided that he was just being lazy. He should go to the opera house. He should offer what support he could. He dragged himself out of bed and wondered why he felt that getting up this morning had been a bad idea.

Entering the opera house, Raoul was not surprised to see no one was around. The managers had told him they could not keep waking up so early in the mornings. He had to hide his relief when he heard that. It was nice to think that he would have a moment's time to himself and everything would be quiet for once. Yet, something about this morning made him feel a little nervous. Maybe it was because it was a little darker than normal in the opera house. It was as though some candles had been extinguished. The shadows seemed deeper than normal.

Raoul ignored his fear and continued deeper into the opera house. He would wait at the manager's office. He wanted to look through some of their expenses in the meantime.

Just as he was about to ascend the stairs, from the corner of his eye he saw something flying towards him. Raoul was too slow in reacting however because though he jerked back, a fist connected rather solidly with the side of his head. Raoul's head twisted from the impact and he dropped to the floor in an unconscious heap.

o.o.o

Erik dragged the Vicomte away from the main hall before deciding that carrying him would be more efficient. Erik slung Raoul over his shoulder. He was surprised at how heavy the blonde actually was. He adjusted the weight before quickly heading towards a relatively unused portion of the opera house.

One thing that Erik appreciated about the opera house was the fact that they stored everything that was ever used on stage. All the sets they had used in the past were often reused or stored. The storage took up a lot of space, but Erik could not really complain. Much of the affects of his abode were taken from old props. Most of the items were well made, and if several furniture pieces were missing from storage, no one in the opera house actually noticed.

Erik dumped Raoul onto the floor. He frowned a bit when a huge cloud of dust rose. He stared at the Vicomte in disdain. He had not hit him that hard. There was no reason that he should be unconscious for such a long time. Erik did wonder however, if he should have caught the boy before he had hit his head that second time against the marble floor. Ignoring his unconscious guest, Erik began to move several of the old sets and props around. It would not do if the boy could easily find the exit. When Erik was done, several hours had already passed and the room looked completely new. Instead of looking like everything had been dumped into the room, it looked as though numerous rooms had collided such that there was no exit or entrance. There was only the open space in the middle surrounded by varied furniture, plants, wood animals, and sceneries.

At one side of the room, Erik sat upon a throne and watched the boy. Still unconscious. He was tempted to just kill him right now, but that would ruin the purpose of taking him. It would also ruin his fun. He was growing impatient though.

After another hour of waiting, Erik wondered if he had actually killed the Vicomte until a groan pulled him from his musings.

He quietly watched as the Vicomte opened his eyes. Raoul tried to sit up, but ended up falling to the floor just as quickly. He gripped his head tightly and cursed. Raoul did not know how his head was still in one piece when it felt like someone was taking an axe and chopping at it. The room was lit dimly and he could not see much of anything. In fact, he could not remember how he had gotten to be wherever here was. All he knew was that his head hurt and he should probably roll on his side soon if the feeling that his stomach had decided to empty itself was accurate.

When the Vicomte looked like he had decided to go back to sleep, Erik decided to finally make his presence known. "It's about time."

The voice was not familiar, but he remembered trying to dodge something. Perhaps Christine's kidnapper needed one more prisoner. Staying on the floor, Raoul tried to look to where the voice had come from. He could not see anyone though.

"Who's there?" Raoul stifled a groan. Speaking was also a bad idea. It made his stomach churn.

There was something important that he was forgetting. Something about Christine that was hovering at the edge of his mind.

"I hadn't expected you to sleep for such a long time."

Sleep? Raoul wanted to scoff. He had been knocked unconscious. He knew that much. Despite the fact that his whole body told him to stop moving, Raoul rolled onto his stomach and tried to push himself up. The room spun for a moment and he leaned perilously to one side. He did not fall though, and Raoul was glad he had not had a big breakfast that morning.

Erik stayed seated on his throne and watched the Vicomte struggle. There was no sport when the prey was incapacitated. So, Erik decided to be direct.

"Where's Christine?" He demanded.

Raoul stopped trying to stand once he settled himself firmly onto his knees. He did not think he could stand without falling.

The question took him off guard.

"What are you talking about?" Raoul thought that this person was the kidnapper. "I should be asking you that, shouldn't I?"

Erik could not believe it. The Vicomte was still acting as though he did not know. Maybe the situation was not clear enough to the boy. Maybe because he did not realize who he was talking to, he was still keeping up the ruse.

Erik stood up from the seat and crossed the distance between them silently. So silently, that when Erik grabbed the front of Raoul's shirt and lifted him onto his feet, Raoul, whose eyes had been shut, screamed at the contact. Once the room stopped spinning, Raoul wished he had kept his eyes shut. The opera ghost was right there. In the dimness of the room, the mask almost seemed like it was floating. There was a face behind that mask as well as a body, one strong enough to lift him up. He'd never seen the opera ghost before and the fact that he was seeing double did not improve the situation.

"Tell me," Erik tightened his grip, "where you have taken her."

Raoul's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to respond.

The ghost shook him once to cut him off, "I do not want to hear your lies."

Not caring if he could not keep his balance, Raoul decided anything was better than being manhandled by the ghost. He lashed out knocking the ghost's grip on his shirt. As expected, Raoul stumbled backwards and fell on his butt. Wincing, Raoul clasped a hand over his mouth when he felt some of his meager breakfast come up. His stomach gurgled and Raoul forced himself to swallow the disgusting bile in his mouth. It burned his throat as it went back down and Raoul almost gagged again. If he had not felt so sick at the moment, he would have found it comedic that even the ghost made a face – well, as much as ghost's make faces – at the sound of Raoul gagging. Erik kept his distance then, but Raoul knew if he said something that the ghost disagreed with, he should be prepared for another physical confrontation.

Raoul glared at the ghost when his stomach stopped trying to expel his food.

"Don't try to play your games. I should be asking you where Christine is."

Erik did not respond. He could not believe that the boy was arrogant enough to continue lying to him. "Do not play these games with me." Erik warned and took a step closer.

Raoul closed his eyes and swayed where he sat. When he could properly glare once more, he raised his voice. "Don't play stupid."

"Why don't you stop _being_ stupid?" Erik retorted, "I will eventually find her."

"What's the use of lying," Raoul asked, "when you're the one who kidnapped her?" He stood up quickly to make his point. He did not want to show weakness to the ghost, though he wondered how impressive he was swaying on his feet. He did not feel so well. He could barely think. All he knew was that the ghost had kidnapped him and thought that he was the one who kidnapped Christine. Nothing was making sense right now.

Erik reached forward to grab the Vicomte again. He wondered how much the opera house would struggle if he strangled its patron.

His hand had barely grasped the front of the Vicomte's coat when Raoul lurched forward. Before he could react, Raoul threw up all over the front of his clothes and the hand that held him. The angry hiss was the only warning before Raoul was pushed several feet back. By the time Raoul could focus on anything again, he was alone. He attempted to move a few times just to get out of the room, but the dizziness forced him back on the ground. Raoul closed his eyes and decided moving was not an option. He would have to sleep it off.

o.o.o

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End chapter

Word count: 2,348

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A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!

Chapter review: haha, so Raoul finally gets to throw up on someone (I'd mentioned it in an earlier fic, but it had been on Christine, not Erik). That's just what he gets. But they can be so stubborn sometimes, can't they? Not even listening to each other.


	3. Concessions

Disclaimer: Please don't sue. I don't own POTO... All I own is an overactive imagination.

Summary: ErikRaoul slash. Time, a 3parts Series. Christine runs away. More like slashy undertone, beginnings?

Warning(s): slash (that's homosexual content for those of you who don't know)

Pairing(s): ErikRaoul

A/N: Hope you're enjoying this so far. Oh yeah, and Erik moving furniture around was fun. It's all feng shui!

Story note: This is part 03 and as it is a 3parts series, this will be the last chapter. Do not fear. There's a next portion to the series. And let's see… it gets more slashy. It doesn't really get obscenely slashy until the sixth installation of the series. Too bad huh, but considering how much I'm going to have to write now. I think it'll go by quicker than you'd think.

o.o.o.o

Time: Beginnings

Part03:Concessions

o.o.o.o

By: Lucifer Rosemaunt

o.o.o.o

o.o.o.o

Last time: Erik kidnaps Raoul and Raoul throws up on him.

o.o.o

It was night by the time Raoul woke up and felt well enough to leave the storage room. Admittedly, it had taken him almost another hour just to find the exit and leave without being seen.

It was the morning of the sixth day since Christine's disappearance and this time Raoul did not wonder about whether or not he was going to the opera house. He was _going_ to the opera house. This time armed with a sword and a better awareness of his surroundings.

When he arrived first thing in the morning, he was on edge. It was déjà vu, but this time nothing happened. He waited and waited for the ghost to show up, but no such luck. He had not even been able to focus on those expenses that he had wanted to look over yesterday.

The managers had not asked where he had been yesterday. Raoul wondered if they thought he had taken a day off or if they were conspiring with the opera ghost. When Raoul watched Andre flirt with some dancers, that suspicion vanished. He did not think that the ghost would collaborate with someone like him. They did ask about the deep purple bruise that had formed around his right eye. He was glad that the other bump on his head was covered by his hairline. He had told them it had been a horsing accident and they accepted it as truth.

He spent a day in the opera house looking at the progress of the rehearsals and listening to the managers' complaints. Opera life was still going on even without Christine. Carlotta loved it. He could tell that some of the ballet girls were nervous and Madame Giry seemed to be on edge as well. But, opera life went on rather smoothly actually. Raoul still felt worried about Christine's disappearance although that worry had taken backseat to the worry about the opera ghost attacking him.

When the headache finally went away and he was well enough to think straight again, he wondered about what the ghost was trying to do by saying that he had not kidnapped Christine. Nothing was making sense. Raoul was confused, but he wondered if that was the point. The ghost was trying to trick him. He was trying to keep him in a state of confusion so that he could get away with keeping Christine. Raoul would not let that happen.

o.o.o

By the time Raoul and Erik finally did clash, it was late in the evening and Raoul had been lulled into believing the confrontation would not occur until the next day.

However, when a shadow stepped in front of his path, Raoul took several steps back before drawing his sword.

"Shall we take this somewhere more private?" Erik asked.

Raoul looked up and down the hallway. It was late, but not that late. He did not really want to be seen fighting the opera ghost. Someone interfering would ruin Raoul's chance to deal with the opera ghost himself. He nodded and the ghost turned and began striding down the hall. Raoul felt self-conscious when he had to focus on keeping up with the ghost. He wondered if it was a terrible mistake to go anywhere with him. The ghost could be trying to lead him to a trap and then what would Raoul do? He would have just walked right into it.

From the back, the ghost did not look very pleased. Raoul grinned. He _had_ thrown up on the man, and Raoul believed the ghost deserved it. Raoul sighed. They were surely going to fight about Christine again. He did not understand why the ghost was acting almost cordial, but this felt more like a gentleman's duel than anything considering they wanted to kill each other. When Raoul thought about it though, their last argument had been rather redundant. 'Tell me where Christine is.' 'No, you tell me.' 'Stop pretending.' 'No, you.' It was enough to make Raoul think they were fighting for all the wrong reasons, if there was a reason at all. It bothered him to think that Christine was with neither of them; so, until the ghost proved that he had not kidnapped Christine, Raoul would believe that he had.

When Raoul began to recognize the path they were taking, he wondered just what affinity the ghost had for that particular storage room. Walking to the center of the room, Raoul noticed that the room had been cleaned.

The ghost did not turn to face him as he asked, "Are you feeling better?"

The question caught Raoul off guard. Was the ghost concerned? Raoul answered hesitantly, "Yes. I feel much better. I…"

The sword swung in a large arc about the ghost's head. Raoul barely had time to dodge it. He had not even seen the ghost holding a sword. The realization came to Raoul quickly. The ghost had not been interested in his health. Well, not really, since he was just interested in not having a repeat of yesterday.

At least, it was less confusing that way. The ghost did not want to talk. He did not want to ask those questions. In fact, from the strength of those strikes, Raoul was certain the ghost wanted to kill him. That too was fine. These past few days had been tiring, but they had also been frustrating. He had been on edge today, but he had felt so helpless not being able to find Christine since her disappearance.

Raoul threw himself in the battle. He put all his frustrations and fears about Christine's disappearance into his attacks. He had a feeling that the ghost was doing the same. His hand was growing numb from the strength of their attacks. Sweat was dripping down his back. His hair kept clinging to his face and blocking his view.

There were no words shared between them. It did not matter what they were fighting about anyway. It was just a chance to fight. Distantly, Raoul was aware of the fact that he was bleeding from his arm and that there were several more bruises he would have to hide tomorrow, but he also knew that he was not the only one being injured. He had landed several blows of his own on the ghost.

It was several hours later and numerous broken set pieces later when Erik and Raoul finally pushed away from each other. Raoul leaned against a wooden horse just to stay on his feet and the ghost had taken a seat on a fountain almost across the room.

"Where is she?" Erik asked.

Raoul narrowed his eyes. He had almost forgotten that was what they had been fighting about. "I'd like to know that as well."

o.o.o

Four weeks. It had been four weeks since Christine's disappearance. Everyday for the last three weeks, Erik and Raoul had been fighting. Their bruises had bruises on them and Raoul had taken to wearing more comfortable clothes when going to the opera house. He had even had to get many of his other clothes mended.

Two weeks ago, Raoul received a report from his investigators that no one named Christine Daae could be found anywhere outside of Paris. Raoul had fought harder against the ghost that day, and he came back with more bruises than was normal.

The managers had given up hope of ever finding her, and the opera house was doing well even without her, as though she had never really existed in its walls or had been a star that had shone so brightly on its stage. It had been good publicity for the opera house according to Firmin.

Raoul found himself spending time with Meg. There was some consolation in Meg's company. She seemed to understand why he could not let her go just yet. He felt like he was offering some comfort to her as well.

He never felt calm however until he waited until late at night and snuck into their storage room. Several new broken props would be piled up in the corner and Raoul would push himself onto the horse and wait. Sometimes he would be there for a while before the ghost would make himself known, but Raoul knew. He knew that the ghost was always there before him. He could just tell now. They would fight and expend all their energy into trying to kill the other. It was not just about the exertion though, they _were_ trying to kill each other.

When Raoul fought the ghost, in his mind, he was blaming the ghost for all the problems he had ever experienced in his life. He was the reason that things went badly.

It was one week ago when Raoul realized that not a single fiber of his being believed that the ghost had taken Christine. He had had his doubts to start with, but now… after so long, it had become absurd to think that the ghost might have taken her. It had not only become a possibility; it was the only possibility.

It had taken him two weeks of fighting and of

'Where is she?'

'I'd like to know as well.'

They would glare at each other from across the room and then the ghost would disappear and Raoul would leave the storage room.

Until this past week when that pattern changed suddenly. They had ended up across the room like normal, but the ghost had had a different demeanor while fighting. It was almost as though Raoul could sense the change in him. His attacks were more vicious. His eyes had been glazed over. It was like the ghost was not even fighting him anymore. He was fighting some unseen foe. When they had finished fighting, the ghost did not ask the question he was supposed to ask and Raoul felt at a loss. He had not known if they were done. In the silence, Raoul had taken stock of his injuries. He was almost too tired to move. His arms hurt and he had gotten a particularly bad gash on his leg. The ghost seemed so out of it; he wondered if he even knew that Raoul was still here.

Raoul was just about to stand up and leave when Erik broke the silence.

"How is your brother?"

It would have sounded like a threat. In fact, it did sound like a threat, but Raoul knew better. That was not a threat. It was an actual question. Still confused, Raoul answered hesitantly, "He's been away for a while now."

He wondered if the ghost was just showing off the fact that he knew personal information about his life. It was either that or the ghost was making small talk, and Raoul did not think that it was the latter.

However, that was the start of the week where everything Raoul expected from the ghost was turned on its head. Instead of leaving right after their fights, they would talk. Perhaps it could not be considered talking since it usually consisted of several questions that Raoul had a feeling the ghost already knew the answers to. Then, they would just sit there in silence. Raoul would only leave after the ghost decided it was time to part.

Sometimes they would sit in that silence for such a long time that Raoul began to doze off. When he woke from those naps, the ghost was always still there watching him from across the room. They would make eye contact and the ghost would leave. Raoul did not know what the ghost was thinking at those moments. He did know however, that he always felt his heart beat faster at the thought that the ghost had watched him while he slept. He knew he blushed at being caught, but there was something more. Maybe it was the fact that the ghost could have easily killed him, but he did not. Raoul felt as though they had come to some sort of understanding, and the pain that came with knowing Christine had left them eased somewhat.

o.o.o

It had been four weeks since Christine's disappearance and Erik wondered how life could be so unexpected. He did not know how things could have turned out the way they had.

More than three weeks ago, the Vicomte had thrown up on him. It had been unexpected and unfortunately, Erik knew it to be entirely his fault. He did not make the same mistake twice. So when he confronted the Vicomte the next day, he made certain it would not happen a second time. He and the Vicomte had fought. It had felt wonderful. Erik had not realized how frustrated he had felt until they had fought. Erik had wanted to kill the Vicomte. He wanted to hurt and make him suffer for what he was doing by kidnapping Christine. At that moment, he had been so angry that he wanted to kill the Vicomte more than he wanted to find Christine. He would have if only they had not been so well matched. He had not expected the Vicomte to make it out alive that first time they had clashed properly. Yet, repeatedly, the Vicomte was alive at the end of their battles.

Two weeks ago, life around the opera house returned to normal. Erik had seen it happen many times before. People left the opera house and their existence simply faded to nothing. Things had easily fallen back into the same routines that had run the opera house for so long. Finally, Erik had begun to doubt that Raoul had taken Christine and accordingly, he had sent out the best people from the streets to find where she had gone.

One week ago, Erik learned that he hated Christine. It felt as though his heart had been torn from his chest. He had even suspected a betrayal, and yet discovering it from his informants had been worse than he thought possible. She had betrayed him, betrayed him completely. He had felt lost. How many years had he spent cultivating her voice? He had watched her grow. He had believed that she would stay with him forever, that she would realize he was the one she belonged with. No. He told himself that he would not be broken by this news. But, what else was there?

Erik had locked himself in his home that day. He had paced angrily breaking everything in his path. He wanted to destroy everything that reminded him of her, but then he would have to destroy himself. He told himself that she was no longer important even when he knew that she was. She would fuel his hatred towards humanity for a long time. She had the same spot in his heart that was occupied by his mother and those gypsies.

He would have wallowed in self-pity for weeks if it were not for the fact that _he_ was waiting. The boy still believed him to be at fault. Erik knew it had been easier when he believed Raoul to be the suspect.

Not his Christine. His Christine… who was no longer his Christine.

He had wondered if he should tell the Vicomte that there was no more reason for them to be fighting. He had discovered the truth. They had both been betrayed. But Erik had been angry, frustrated. He wanted to kill something, hurt someone and Raoul had provided the best outlet for his frustrations. They had actually both been more injured that night. And after they had fought, Erik realized he wanted to keep fighting. He wanted to meet with Raoul every night. He was growing to look forward to their meetings. It was stupid of him, but the Vicomte was a worthy opponent. He had to be if he wanted to stay alive.

So, he had stopped asking that question he was supposed to ask – mostly because he already knew the answer, and partly because he did not want to hear Raoul's response. Instead, he watched Raoul. He watched his rival and wondered why someone so stupid could fight so well. The loathing was fading though. Raoul was a pitiable creature: for his naiveté, for his blind trust, for his love given to a girl who did not deserve it. Erik could not deny that he felt some connection between them.

Raoul waited for him to leave every night after they fought before he returned to his estate. Erik had noticed this earlier, but did nothing about it until the past week. He waited to see how long he could push that patience. He would ask a few questions that he knew the answers to and Raoul would respond. Then, Erik would wait. He would wait for Raoul's body to relax visibly. Then, Raoul would have a hard time keeping his eyes open. Erik could practically tell what Raoul was thinking. Raoul would make the concession of resting his eyes for a bit, but then he would fall asleep. Erik would watch raptly as Raoul's mouth was partially open and his head tilted at some odd angle he was certain would cause the Vicomte some pain when he woke. It was calming watching him sleep.

He doubted Raoul's exhaustion was so great that he did not see the danger in falling asleep in his enemy's territory (currently five times in a row), but there was that blind trust. It was the blind trust that kept Erik across the room and only watching.

His hatred for Christine seemed to grow when he watched Raoul sleep. Maybe it was because of Raoul's ignorance or the fact that he could not get Raoul's declaration of love for Christine out of his head. Erik had loved Christine that much and more. He had needed Christine more, that was for certain. And some of his hatred would be directed towards Raoul. He wanted to hate the stupid, idiotic fop of a boy.

But he could not hate him that much, because Erik would watch the blush that would form on Raoul's cheeks when he woke up. Raoul would meet Erik's eyes with a sheepish grin and apologetic eyes before running a hand through his hair. No one had ever looked at him like that. He had never seen anyone so openly give that sort of trust to him. Not even Christine had. Several times already, Erik wanted to just stay there until morning to wait for Raoul to fall asleep just to watch him wake up again, but he would not give into that temptation. He forced himself to leave every time after Raoul woke.

o.o.o

On the start of the fifth week since Christine's disappearance, Raoul stepped into their storage room with a purpose. He walked towards the throne where he knew the ghost liked to sit as he waited for Raoul. Luckily for him, the ghost was already there. Raoul did not want to lose his nerve waiting. He spoke firmly, breaking the routine they had so meticulously followed for three weeks.

"Christine's not coming back. Is she?" Raoul looked the ghost directly in the eyes.

Erik looked at Raoul uncertainly. He did not like where this was going, but he shook his head slowly.

Raoul stated, "She left us."

Erik nodded even though it was not a question. Raoul wanted confirmation anyway.

"Then," Raoul was tired. He had come to a conclusion last night. The ghost was humouring him. He was the last one to realize that Christine was not coming back. She had left even though she told him that she loved him, even though he had told her that he loved her. He had already known that. He had resigned himself to that fact, but some part of him harbored the belief that she would come back. She was not coming back though. Last night, he had realized that the ghost had probably known that fact long before he had. Raoul had taken such comfort in the silence that they shared after their fights that he had not seen the truth. The truth was that the ghost was probably laughing at him for being so pathetic. That look in the ghost's eyes was probably contempt. The ghost was probably even laughing at him as he slept. And when he could not sleep, he wondered why those thoughts about the ghost hurt.

"Then, there's no reason for us to fight anymore." Raoul turned around without waiting for a reaction and left without another word.

Erik stood up then, but did not say anything. He could not call out. He knew this moment was coming. As much as he waited for these times that he could spend with Raoul to come, he had known that Raoul would also leave him. He just had not thought it would be this soon or that he would feel so much at a loss. With Christine gone, there was no one left to speak with. He was truly alone now, again. He did not know if he could do it anymore, being so alone. He had planned to be with Christine forever, and now she was gone and the last connection he had to humanity was leaving him as well.

Erik cursed humanity though. He hated people for their weakness, for their betrayals, for their cynicism, for their distrust, and for their hate. Raoul, on the other hand, was so far from that. Erik had stopped hating Raoul so much sometime during those nights when they had fought. He had stopped hating him completely when he learned that Christine had betrayed them both. And, he had somehow grown dependent upon him sometime during those few hours he had watched Raoul sleep.

Erik did not move to stop him from leaving though. That dependence was not what he wanted – not with Raoul and not with anyone else for that matter. He told himself it was better that Raoul would finally leave him alone.

o.o.o

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End Installation 01

Word count: 3,660

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A/N: Don't forget to R/R (Read and Review)!

Chapter review: He just left!! A lot of time passed in this one little chapter. Go figure. I jump time a lot. Oh, and it turned out to be more Raoul-centric. I tend to do that because he _is_ my favorite. He doesn't get enough love and I pick on him entirely too much. So, I'm being kinder to Raoul in this one (except for the last chapter where I knocked him unconscious and made him throw up).

Oh and Erik's stubborn, he _has_ grown dependent on Raoul though.

Look for the next installation of Time: a 3parts Series.


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